POLLUTION experts are set to take a tour of the county in a bid to make our water cleaner.

The government's Environment Agency has created a specialised team of officers to lead the operation and take action on a growing problem.

From next month until April 2006, the team will work on tackling 'diffuse pollution' - pollution from land which can be washed into our rivers, estuaries and seas, such as fertiliser and manure from farm land or dirty surface water from roads.

Over the last decade or so, water companies have invested in reducing direct discharges from sewage treatment works, and water quality in the region has improved considerably.

Waterside businesses have also been targeted and warned they face tough penalties for polluting rivers and streams.

Now that these direct sources of pollution have been reduced, the impact of indirect, or 'diffuse' pollution has become more evident.

The team, funded under the European Union, is part of a larger project tasked with the specific aim of Improving Coastal and Recreational Waters (ICREW) and boosting tourism in the UK, Ireland, France, Portugal and the Canary Islands.

The officers will begin by working in areas that border the Morecambe Bay coast. Then the team will visit farms and agricultural holdings as well as caravan parks and campsites across the county.

Joanne Sheppard, a communications officer for the Environment Agency, said: "They will be offering free advice and guidance on measures that can be taken to reduce the impact of diffuse pollution on the region's watercourses.